The Sarjeant Gallery is hosting American duo Rosie Newton and Richie Stearns to play at Frank Bar in Whanganui next month. Photo / Supplied
Richie Stearns and Rosie Newton, who play together as the duo Richie and Rosie, grew up more than 200km and few decades apart.
Stearns started playing banjo at 14 while Newton began classical piano lessons at 8, eventually moving to classical viola as a teenager.
Both shared incredibly unique, musically-immersed childhoods.
Stearns' family founded the iconic GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance (of which he is now president).
By the time she started high school, Newton was playing fiddle and touring with folk-rock band The Mammals.
During that time, the two were introduced at Saratoga Springs' Flurry Festival - a meeting that would spark a fated friendship and unique musical bond.
"He left an impression on me because he was wearing Converse. I had never seen an adult wear Converse before," Newton said.
Newton, a Woodstock native, graduated from high school and decided to move to Ithaca, New York, after being drawn to the thriving old-time scene which happened to also be Stearns' stomping grounds.
While studying viola at Ithaca College and playing fiddle on the side, Newton started incorporating folk with her traditional Celtic and classical upbringing.
Meanwhile, Stearns was a well-established singer and banjo player in the community, having performed around the world with bands like Bela Fleck, Pete Seeger, David Byrne, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Old Crow Medicine Show, and Joan Baez.
In addition to releasing two solo albums, he was adding to his discography, which includes three Natalie Merchant records, multiple collaborations with Jim Lauderdale, Donna The Buffalo and Carrie Rodriguez.
Stearns and Newton began touring together regionally as part of the Evil City String Band, where they were joined by bass player Ben Gould and Steve Selin on fiddle alongside Newton and guitarist Paddy Burke.
Eventually, they decided to play as a duo and in 2013 released Tractor Beam, a 12-track mix of originals and classics, including Townes Van Zandt's If I Needed You and Say Darlin' Say, a traditional lullaby.
As it was their first exclusive release as Richie and Rosie, the pair wanted to give fans a polished recording of the songs that they played live.
After three years of touring and writing, the duo returned to the studio last December to record their second full-length album, Nowhere in Time.
The record finds itself at a junction of Americana, old-time and folk, bringing a new sound to traditional music.
While the majority of the album is a simple combination of fiddle, banjo and captivating melodies, the duo manages to pack an incredibly full sound.
"At the beginning, we were thinking it might be a project with lots of other people involved, more of a big production," Newton said.
"As we went through it, we realised that the magic lies within the duo. We have an intimacy of music and we feel the power of two people playing. That's who we are."
Nowhere in Time gives fans a look inside the duo's personal lives, with a variety of introspective lyrics.
The most interesting story on the album might be the one behind the title track.
After receiving an unexpected phone call from the AARP (a United States-based interest group whose stated mission is to empower people to choose how they live as they age), Stearns wrote a song for the organisation that chronicled life after 50.
"They set up a recording date for the song before it was even written," he said.
"So I'm sitting in my living room, crumpling up paper and trying to write a song about reinventing yourself after 50."
It became a song about appreciating the present.
"That's what the song was actually born out of," Stearns said.
"You can look back and look forward, but we aren't done with life, we're just where we are. It's about focusing on the moment."
Ironically, the commissioned song became one of their most well-received songs and defined exactly what the duo hopes to achieve - music that many can connect with.
Richie and Rosie: Sunday, February 2, at 4.30pm, Frank Bar + Eatery, 98 Victoria Ave. Tickets $20 from the Sarjeant Gallery, 38 Taupo Quay, or call 06 349 0506 to book.
'I can't stress enough that once your dog has signs, you're too late.'
